Spirit Walk
by MissyBlack31
Summary: Henry Ateara is sent on a vision quest and takes along his only friend Gabrielle. Their journey takes them much farther than they expected … to the center of the earth! Based on Original Twilight Roleplay. Written for the RPCC contest; won BEST PLOT AWARD.


**Spirit Walk **

**by MissyBlack31 and smiledogunion**

**Summary: Henry is sent on a vision quest and takes along his only friend Gabrielle. Their journey takes them much farther than they expected … to the center of the earth!**

**Genre: Adventure and Friendship**

**Rating: T**

**dddddddddddddddddddddddddd**

A bonfire on the beaches of La Push was not an unusual occurrence. A bonfire surrounded by elders telling legends of their tribe were happening much more often since the pack had grown in numbers. Tonight's bonfire was to initiate another new brother into their fold.

Henry Ateara had just joined the pack. His family had just moved to La Push and he'd been moved into his new home less than a week when he started showing symptoms. Old Quil made the call to the boy's parents and he was quickly brought to Sam's house to learn of his heritage.

Tonight, he would learn of his ancestors. After the food was rapidly consumed and the elders' pipe was prepared, they all gathered around the fire to listen to the stories. Billy Black began the tales and then the elders each took their turn, recounting the stories and smoking the pipe.

The smoke from the pipe and the fire made a gray ring around their heads. Henry almost felt like he was transported to another time, the oral history of their people forming images before his eyes. He was so lost in the stories that he almost missed it.

A whisper.

It rose quietly out of the fire and then became louder, more insistent.

Henry sat up and listened.

"Henry Ateara. A great quest has been lain before your feet. You must venture to a land not of this time. There you will find your destiny."

Henry gasped and looked around the fire to the faces of the elders. Old Quil was telling the story of the of the third wife and her sacrifice. His voice did not have the deep timber he just heard from the fire. He looked beside him at his friend, Gabrielle. Her eyes were focused on Old Quil but when she felt Henry's stare, she turned to look back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you hear that?"

Gabrielle nodded and smiled. "Yes. I've heard this story at least five times. If you ask me, the woman should have shifted too … but I guess us female wolves are rare. Lucky us."

Henry shook his head. "That's not what I meant. I heard ..."

His thought was interrupted by the voice calling him again from the fire. "You will take your vision quest to the highest peak. Once you've reached it's precipice you will fall to the water below. You will follow a path that is below the surface of the water. It will lead you to your destiny."

Henry stood up and shouted. "Wait! Who are you? What's a vision quest?! Where's the tallest peak?!"

The voice answered. "Ephraim Black and I am your alpha. You will follow my word."

Henry waved his hands and shouted once more. "Wait! Why me?"

Gabrielle stood up beside him and pulled him back down with a hand on his shoulder.

"What in God's name are you yelling about? Everyone is looking at you like you're nuts, man! Are you okay?"

Henry rubbed his face and looked around. Everyone in the circle had gone silent, watching him with interest. He couldn't help the blush that rose to his cheeks.

Maybe he was just imagining things.

"Sorry. Sorry. Just got caught up in the excitement." He announced and the other wolves chuckled, clapping him on the back.

Just then, Emily and Kim brought out four cakes and his outburst was immediately forgotten. Well, forgotten by everyone but Gabrielle, who was still beside his side and holding his arm.

"You will tell me what that was all about." she demanded.

Henry nodded. "Later. I promise."

Gabrielle glared at him but didn't push, finally turning from him and leading the way to the dessert table. They each grabbed two slices and headed back to the fire for more stories from both young and old of their many exploits.

By the time Henry made it home, he was exhausted. He quickly undressed and fell into his bed. He settled quickly into his mattress, falling into a deep sleep as his mind circled around the deceased alpha's words.

The following day, Gabrielle was at his door bright and early. She waited in the kitchen, chatting with his mother while Henry ate his breakfast then dressed and brushed his teeth. To anyone else it would appear to be a normal friendly visit. They often spent time together. Henry was their newest wolf, but Gabrielle was pretty new too and they found some comfort in being the newbies together.

They also had a lot in common. They were both competitive and fiercely loyal. They both hated vampires and wished to return to some semblance of normalcy, before their mutant gene activated and made them giant wolves.

They also both loved being wolves. It was quite the contradiction but they both felt it. The exhilaration in the change, the speed, and the strength. They often patrolled together and found new and different ways to challenge their new abilities.

Henry knew all of her secrets and she'd be damned if she didn't know all of his.

And right now she wanted to know what the hell had gotten into him last night.

He finished his ablutions quickly and motioned Gabrielle that he was ready to go.

They walked along the dirt road, Henry following a weird pull he felt in his gut, and it didn't take long for Gabrielle to start her questioning.

"So … what was all the yelling about last night?"

"I thought I heard something."

She narrowed her eyes. "You thought you heard what?"

He sighed and peeked at his friend from the corner of his eye. "A voice."

This made her stop dead in her tracks. "You heard a voice?"

He nodded and pulled her arm. "Don't stop walking. Come on. Yes, I heard a voice. It was strange … like coming from the fire. At first I thought it was Billy or Old Quil … but it wasn't."

Gabrielle didn't question his sanity or the validity of his statement. She wouldn't do that and that was yet another reason why she was his best friend. She simply nodded and waited for him to continue.

"I heard the voice and it told me that I had to go on a quest."

She looked him over carefully but kept up moving. "A quest? Like a knight in shining armor kind of thing?"

Henry laughed. "No stupid. A vision quest. He said he was Ephraim Black, the first alpha, and he commanded me to follow this path."

Gabrielle pointed at their feet. "This path?"

Henry finally took in their surroundings. He'd been so absorbed in telling her what happened and following the pull in his gut, he hadn't even noticed that they were nearly to cliff rocks by the beach.

"Yeah … I guess so."

Gabrielle hummed and kept walking beside him.

"I'm not sure that you can go, Gab. I mean … he didn't say if I could take someone."

She laughed. "If you think you're going on a quest without me, you're crazy. I'm going."

He should have known that was what she would say. She never backed down from anything. And she'd never leave him to face … whatever this was … by himself.

"Thanks." he whispered, nudging her elbow with the bony end of his.

"No thanks necessary. Unless you have chocolate. I will take gratitude in the form of chocolate."

He shook his head and chuckled as they made their way up the steep hill to the cliffs.

Once they'd climbed the steepest hill, they fell back against the rock, exhausted from the hike.

"We should have phased. It would have been much easier as a wolf."

Gabrielle shoved him playfully. "Yeah … loads of fun carrying your clothes in your mouth. I didn't bring a rope. Did you?"

Henry merely shook his head and laughed. "Good point."

After catching their breath, they stood and looked over the edge.

"This looks like the tallest one." she noted, whistling as she leaned over the side.

"Yeah .. this one feels right." He answered, removing his shirt and shoes.

"Feels right?" She looked over at him. "What are you doing? Are you going to jump now?!"

He nodded, smiling. "Yup. It feels right. I have this weird pull in my gut … this is it."

She looked skeptical for the first time since he'd told her of the quest. "I'm not sure we should just jump into this." She looked into the choppy waters again. "I mean … literally. We should make a plan, gather supplies … something first don't ya think?"

Henry just shook his head again. "Nope. Gotta go now, Gab."

Gabrielle sighed. "Now. Right. Of course." She started to remove her shoes and shirt as well, leaving her in only her skinny shorts and bikini top. They did enough swimming that she always wore a bikini, not because she was particularly modest but because she didn't want to make a bigger deal about her gender difference than there already was amongst her pack.

"Ready?" He asked, smiling and then jumping over without waiting for her response.

"Dammit! Hold on!" she yelled after him, jumping in and screaming as she fell.

The water was freezing but luckily their overheated bodies didn't feel the intense cold and they swam around until Henry noticed a small underwater cave near the opposite side of the rocks from which they jumped.

"Gab … over there. There's a cave. I think that's where we should go."

She nodded and quickly swam after him since her friend once again was too excited to wait for her answer and went forward without asking her opinion.

They took a deep breath and then ducked under the surface again, swimming deep into the blue waters until they swam through the cave entrance. He then paused to look back at her and give her a thumbs up to which she responded with a thumbs up back and they continued on. The tunnel moved up and there was space for them to break the surface for a breath before they ran out of oxygen. They kept swimming on until the water from the lake became shallow and they were forced to stand and wade through the shrinking pools.

"We've moved upwards, the water is receding." Henry pointed out, to which Gabrielle pointed her head and answered with a "duh!"

They both laughed and kept pushing forward, the water around their ankles soon disappearing until they were traveling along dry ground. It didn't take long for the high temperature of their bodies to evaporate the moisture from their skin and they were soon dry and comfortable. The cave was dark, but they didn't have much trouble seeing, their keen eyesight helping them to avoid knocking into rocks or fallen tree roots.

"What do you think tree roots are doing this deep in the rock? That's kind of weird, isn't it?" Gabrielle asked, pushing aside another tree root that had poked through the cave ceiling into their path.

Henry looked around and nodded. "Yeah … it's strange … and look at this." He pointed to droplets of water running down the walls. "Where is this water coming from?"

She shrugged but was suddenly hit with an uneasy feeling crawling up her spine. "It's creepy in here."

He just nodded again and pushed on, leaving Gabrielle with nothing to do but follow him.

After a few hundred feet, they noticed the cave tunnel widening and some light starting to reflect on the surfaces ahead.

"We must be nearing an opening." Henry pointed out her and began walking faster.

"Henry, slow down. You don't know what you may just be charging into here. What if there's something dangerous? We didn't bring any weapons … or anything with us at all."

The words had no sooner left her mouth when they heard a buzzing noise coming from ahead of them. The noise was faint but getting louder.

He stopped walking and moved beside his friend. "Gab, stay by me." He looked at her and smirked. "What do we need weapons for? We can change into giant wolves, remember?"

The adrenaline was pumping through his veins. Instead of feeling scared, he was pumped to see what trouble might be ahead of them. He'd yet to run into a leech on his patrols with the pack, being so new, he was still being trained, and he longed for some excitement.

Gabrielle knew exactly what he was thinking and rolled her eyes. "Don't let the fur fly yet, Superboy. You don't know what that sound is … and if you change into a wolf here you are going to take up the entire tunnel. Then you'll be stuck and forced to try and fight in an enclosed space with no room to move. Not a good thing."

Henry nodded but continued to bounce on his toes as they walked more carefully towards the sound. The buzzing increased until it was so loud they had to cover their ears. They slowed their steps to a tip toe and peered around the next curve.

There, down the next tunnel, were the largest bees either of them had ever seen. They were longer than a human, with giant heads and even bigger stingers. Henry gasped and took a step back, looking at Gabrielle panicked.

He was allergic to bees.

She nodded her head and squeezed his arm to reassure him that she understood. The leaned against the wall and tried to come up with a plan.

"We could try another way?" she whispered.

"What other way? I haven't seen another tunnel leading off of this one and besides … my gut is telling me that's the way." he answered, his whisper slightly more shaky.

Gabrielle frowned. "Well … then you'll have to stay here. I'll go ahead and try to lure them out."

Henry looked at her with wide, incredulous eyes. "Are you crazy? They'll kill you, allergic or not, those stingers would put a whole the size of a cannon ball through you!"

She grimaced. "Thanks for the visual … but I have to try, right? You said it yourself ... that's the way we have to go."

"No way. It's too risky. Just … let's just wait and see if they leave."

Gabrielle sighed. Who knew how long that would take? But it was probably a better idea than just running through a swarm of mutant bees. "Okay."

They slid down the wall into a crouch and waited. They waited and waited. It was several hours before the bees finally moved away from their tunnel. The buzzing sound finally receded and they both sighed in relief.

"Finally … I'm starving."

Gabrielle gave Henry a hard look. "Food. Another thing you failed to bring with us on this journey of yours."

His guilt was quickly overcome by his defensive nature. "You know … you didn't have to tag along. I'm sure there must be something here. The bees were here after all."

"Yum. Flowers." She deadpanned but after one last glare, she followed her friend down the path.

The light kept getting brighter until the cave opened into a jungle. They both looked at each other and then around the exit in surprise. It was like something out of a safari book. No jungles like this existed in Washington.

It was like another world.

"Do you smell that?" Henry asked, his features lighting up into a grin once again.

"Trees?" she asked, smiling back. She knew what he was referring to, a sweet smell that was coming from somewhere in this jungle. She couldn't resist teasing him though.

"Ha ha. Come on. Let's see what that smell is." He said in return, quickly making his way through the overgrown brush.

"I don't think it's the pull that's leading you anymore." she yelled, laughing and running to keep up.

The trees and flora soon thickened until their path was completely blocked with plant life. They had to weave and climb over obstacles to move forward, still following the delectable scent. They were thankful for their ability to instantly heal and high pain tolerance, as the brush and floor kept scratching and poking them from all angles. The heat and humidity of the jungle was oppressive, like a sweaty palm pushing right on your chest. Soon, they came to a stream. They both dived in, washing the mud from their feet and drinking as much as they could hold.

"I've never been so thirsty in my life." Gabrielle noted, as she scooped handful after handful of cool blue water to her mouth.

"I've never been so hungry in my life. Let's keep moving." Henry answered, taking one last mouthful before standing.

They kept moving towards the smell when suddenly an echo broke through the trees.

It sounded like a growling bear but neither could smell bear around them. Henry felt his hackles raise in response.

"Phase. Now Gab!" he commanded.

Gabrielle wasn't one to take orders from her friend, or anyone really, but the growling was getting louder and she felt the danger coming too. It didn't seem like the time to argue.

They both stripped and phased in under a minute, two giant wolves, one golden and one gray, standing in their place.

"_Let's go check it out." _

Henry once again started moving toward the smell that seemed to be in the same direction as the growling with Gabrielle close beside him keeping watch.

"_It's not a bear, Gab."_

She followed the direction of his nose and line of sight and spotted the creature Henry saw.

It was a tall, furry monster, something neither of them had ever seen before, and it had what appeared to be a cow-like skull for a head. The body was long and lanky, but obviously muscled and covered in a fur that looked like the hair of a buffalo. It's eyes were empty and black but its movement and sound betrayed any hint of death. It was somehow alive and it was tearing up some smaller creature by it's feet.

Gabrielle gestured towards the small animal at it's feet. _"That was the food we thought we smelled."_

Under the monster, a small white deer-like creature lay, now dead and being slowly consumed by the other. It resembled a deer, with large antlers, but it's fur was like newly fallen snow, so bright it nearly blinded you. It did indeed smell like the sweetest nectar but when they laid eyes on it, they could tell it was special.

They knew in that instant that the small dead creature was something sacred and the monster tearing it limb from limb was a great evil. Gabrielle felt sick but kept quiet, fighting back whimpers for the poor innocent that was slain.

"_Do we fight it?" _she finally asked him when she could watch no more.

Henry shook his giant head and took a step back. _"No. She's dead. We should run."_

They took off in silence, running as fast as their limbs could carry them through the trees. They didn't stop until they were far from the sounds of the monster consuming it's prey. Another pool of water could be seen in the distance and they decided to make camp near it for the night so they would have a source of water nearby. Henry found some fruit in the nearby trees and they both picked them and sat down to eat.

They didn't phase back to human and after making a bed of leaves, took shifts sleeping. The sounds of birds and stirring creatures woke Henry from his last nap. He lifted his giant muzzle to see Gabrielle sitting by the pond. He lumbered over to her, sitting beside her for a drink. Before his tongue could lap the water, he saw his reflection.

He sat back in surprise.

His reflection in the crystal pond was not of himself as a wolf, but him as a man. He was older and looked ragged. He held the skull of the monster in his arm and a broken tooth in his other. He sat in shock until Gabrielle's soft whimpers broke through his amazement. He quickly looked over at her and saw she was still as a wolf, crying out in pain at the reflection that shone. He looked down to see her as a human woman, older like he, holding a small child on her hip. She looked happy and healthy, the child had her mother's eyes.

"_Gab … what's wrong. I see it too. … it's us but later … from the future. Why are you crying?"_

She changed back to human, holding her legs to her chest as great sobs wracked through her slim frame.

"It … it can't be! I can't … "

She couldn't finish her sentence but Henry knew what she was trying to say. He knew all her secrets too. He knew that she was barren, having entered menopause when she'd first phased into a wolf.

He sniffed the air and listened but could hear no sign of the monster. He changed to human and quickly gathered his friend in his arms, rocking her softly as she cried. As her tears slowly died away, he lifted her from the ground, bringing them both to their feet.

"It's time for us to leave, Gab. Are you ready?"

She looked up, her eyes red and swollen. "How?"

He smiled and kissed her hair. "I just know."

She let a small smile loose and nudged him. "Have a feeling, do ya?"

He laughed. "Yep. I do. Want to go for a quick swim before we make our way back?"

She rubbed her face with her hands and took a deep calming breath. "Yeah, I do." She pushed him aside and jumped ahead. "Last one in is a rotten egg!"

His booming laugh echoed in the trees and they both dived into the waters. They didn't notice anything in the brush. They didn't realize anything followed.

When they reemerged from the it's cold blue depths, they were back in La Push, swimming at their own beach. They looked at one another in amazement and quickly made their way to the sand.

"How did we get back here?"

Henry shook his head. "I don't know. I just knew it was time to come back and then ..." He trailed off, waving a hand around them.

Gabrielle noticed her nudity for the first time that morning and looked around. It was one thing for a pack brother to see her in all her naked glory, but it was another for one of the villagers or worse, a visitor to the rez. She really didn't want to be put on a sex offender's list for indecent exposure or something.

"I think I'm going to phase and run back to the house." She told him, shifting at once and this time she didn't wait for his answer.

Noticing that some other people coming out of the water, he quickly followed, not wanting to be harassed for public nudity either. His brain was on repeat of what they'd experienced. He couldn't help but obsess on the evil monster they encountered in the jungle and the vision of his future that he'd seen in the water … and Gabrielle's.

It was a mystery that didn't seem to have an easy answer.

_Perhaps he should go back to the elders and ask their advice... _

"_You better hurry. Emily's made chicken and mashed potatoes!" _Gab called out.

Tomorrow.

He'd see the elders tomorrow but today he hustled after his best friend.

_After all, he needed the proper nutrition and energy to fight the devil himself, right?_

He looked back once more and thought he saw a glittery golden gate in the reflection of the water. He shook it off as his own imagination and sprinted towards the woods, determined to push his visions and journey to the back of his mind. He would analyze them later, alone, when he could think over them properly. Now, all he wanted was food and rest. In the back of his mind, he knew images of that skull faced monster would haunt his dreams.


End file.
